Julia Child

I remember watching Julia Child with my mom growing up. I always loved her show and the way she made everything look easy. How she taught her fellow food lovers that it's ok to make a mistake. I bought one of her books a while back, but hadn't had the time to read it.

I decided to start it yesterday and let me tell you, this book #1 makes me hungry, #2 makes me crave French food and Wine, and #3 makes me miss France so so much!!

I absolutely love this book so far. It brings me a sense of relief to know that she started her career later in life.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love this time of year! Family comes together, amazing amazing food and exchanging of gifts :) My family came over and we had a feast!!! For the maine course and side dishes we had: roast beef, my Mom's famous ribs, mashed potatoes, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, and yams!! For dessert we had cupcakes, brownies, sugar cookies, and ice cream!! Boy I am stuffed!!!

I'd have to say I got one of the best Christmas gifts ever this year!!!

Williams Sonoma Baking Sheets and a cupcake apron from Anthropologie!

I hope everyone had a very happy, healthy and safe Christmas!!! I look forward to starting off the New Year with you all!!!! Happy Eatings!! Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup!!

Ingredients: NEED BLENDER

5 Tbsp butter (I didn't use that much)

6 cups of butternut squash cubed

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 Granny smith apples (peeled, and chopped)

5 cups of water

1 cup of apple cider

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp dried sage leaves

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2/3 cup heavy cream (I didn't have any, so I used milk. still came out great!)

sour cream and nutmeg for garnish

[1] Melt the butter in a large saucepan, saute squash and brown sugar until slightly softened

[2] Add apples, water, cider, salt, cinnamon, sage and cloves

[3] Bring to a boil

[4] Simmer until apples are tender

[5] Let it cool slightly. - working in small batches, puree soup in Blender.

[6] After soup is pureed, stir in heavy cream (or milk)

[7] Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a dash of nutmeg!!

Thanksgiving Feast!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I am still full from last Thursday!! I'm thankful for my wonderful family & friends, and delicious food!! This year my mom and I teamed up to make a yummy feast!! We made Bruschetta and salad for appetizers. For main course we cooked Turkey (of course) with cranberry sauce and butternut squash soup!!. Sides included mashed potatoes and yams. And Tiramisu for dessert!!

:) This is our 20lb Turkey!!

Believe it or not, it's smaller than what we usually get since we didn't have as many people over.

Anyways, I will include a recipe for the butternut squash soup!! I already put a recipe of the bruschetta and tiramisu in previous posts. :)

Enjoy!

Tiramisu

On Friday I made Tiramisu for my friend's early Thanksgiving Potluck. It came out great. Definitely well received!!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

4 Tbls butter

4 Tbls sugar (x2) separate

2 pkgs of Marscapone Cheese

2 pkgs of cream cheese

1 Pint of whipping cream

1/2 cup of Kahlua

1 Cup of coffee/espresso

Lady Fingers

Chocolate shavings and/or cocoa

Recipe:

Beat eggs, butter and 4Tbls of sugar. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese and Marscapone cheese. Combine egg mixture and cheese mixture. Beat whipping cream and 4Tbls sugar. Fold whip cream into cheese mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine coffee and kahlua. Dip Lady fingers in mixture.

In a deep dish, layer as follows:

Lady fingers dipped in coffee/kahlua, cheese mixture, cocoa, chocolate shavings. REPEAT

***Special thanks to Lex :)

Providence, RI's Little Gem!!

Yayyy for having Veteran's Day off!!! (sorry for those of you who had to work). Since I had the day off, I thought I'd visit one of my best friends Erin. She lives in Providence, and is known as the tea goddess of Teavana. Go in and get yourself/friends/family some tea today!

Erin and her roomie Cyndie took me to the most amazing little restaurant better known as a "Snuggery" (a cosy and comfortable place). It's called Duck & Bunny.

I can honestly say that was the most delicious wonderful 2 hour lunch I've had in a who knows how long.

In addition to great food, the decor is quite lovely. It's small (a house turned into a restaurant), but it's definitely cozy. Fully equiped with beautiful chandalers, comfy chairs, marble tables and funky artwork.

Nothing like a nice pot of tea on a cold day.

Polenta Fries - Lightly seasoned


Tea Sandwiches - Cucumber with herb butter, turkey with dried cranberry, tuna with apple, sundried tomato cream, smoked salmon with dill cream

Thomas Henry Crêpe - Bacon, scrambled egg & fontina cheese

Mandarin Almond Salad - Romaine lettuce, succulent baby mandarins, toasted almond slivers, scallion, mandarin vinaigrette

The Tiny Evans - Egg Cup / mushrooms, shallots, tarragon, topped with baked egg, gruyère and cream



Mini Cupcakes - They make them fresh daily, so their menu changes. Today they had brownie mint, cppacino, Banana nutell, and red velvet cupcakes.

The Chubby Ella - The most delicious Banana Nutella Crêpe ever

Next time you're in Providence, visit the Duck & Bunny. You won't be disappointed!

312 Wickenden St Providence, RI 02903-4469
(401) 270-3300

Open Tuesday Through Sunday
10:00 am until late

Life Alive

Ahhh, I've been terrible with updating this!! So sorry!! Anyways, as some of you may know, I'm always looking for a good vegetarian restaurant around the Boston area. My grandma along with some of my family are vegetarians. I always feel bad when they can only order a boring wedge as their meal.

This restaurant is called Life Alive (<-- click to check out their website, I highly suggest it!) They have so many options to choose from. I haven't tried them all, but I'm working on it! Although I'm not a vegetarian, I don't mind it every now and then. I went tonight with my friend Elissa (she introduced me to it). Life Alive has two locations, one in Lowell and one in Central Sq. Not only is the food delicious and organic, but the restaurant has a great vibe: fully equiped with great artwork, comfy seating, and an awesome staff. Here's an excerpt from their Mission Statementon on their site:

"We are here to renew your energy and connection to life by soulfully serving you the most fantastic, vibrant, organic, therapeutic, whole food you could ever imagine in an inspiring environment that honors local artisans, the community, and our global ecology."

If you're looking for great food that will make your tastebuds jump and make you feel energized, then Life Alive is the place to go.



Elissa with her organic decafinated tea: they've got a lot so go and check it out


1st pic: Elissa got The Mystic Mountain: it was so delicious!!
2nd pic: I got The Emperor: it was so flavorful, I think I'm addicted to it.

If you want to know what the ingredients are just check out their online menu

I can't wait to go back!!!

mMmMmMmm Chocolate Mousse!!

Hello fellow foodies!! I'm sorry for not updating lately. Life has been pretty busy lately. I took a trip to California (I'll update with my food adventure there later on!!) in September and have been traveling here and there around NE. Fall is here so that means Thanksgiving, apple pie, pumpkin pie etc!!!! I can't wait to update with those lovely treats!!

Anyways, I made dark chocolate mousse a while ago and it came out really good! Check out the recipe I found!

Ingredients:
3.5 oz dark chocolate bar, chopped or broken in small pieces
1 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water, divided (2 tbsp for chocolate, 2 tbsp for egg mixture)
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/8 tsp ground chipotle
very tiny pinch of salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream

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1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate, butter, and 2tbsp of water

2. Combine sugar and egg yolks, and 2 tbsp of water.

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***LET CHOCOLATE MIXTURE COOL BEFORE ADDING EGGS OR ELSE YOU'LL END UP WITH CHOCOLATE AND SCRAMBLED EGGS...not too tastey!

3. Add egg mixture

4. Add Chipotle and salt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5. Whisk cream until you form soft peaks.

6. Fold whip cream into chocolate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Refrigerate chocolate mousse a couple hours.

Add whip cream when ready to serve!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Big E!!

Hey guys, I promised a little surprise so here it is! I put together a video about my food adventure at The Big E!! For those of you who don't know what it is, it's pretty much a giant fair in Springfield, MA. This year it's from September 17 to October 3rd! They've got rides, animals, booths you can buy stuff, live bands etc.. But most importantly: AMAZING FOOD!!!

If you haven't gone, definitely check it out!! There's still time!!

Anyways, here's the little video I put together...(song of choice is whatever I'm currently obsessed with and have on repeat on my ipod). I hope you guys enjoy it!

Culinary School Decision

I had been thinking about culinary school for a long time now and finally enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu. They had a baking and pastry program that started in November from 3p - 7p Monday through Friday. It was the only time that really worked with my schedule. Last week I got a call from the school saying that they had canceled that program all together and would not offer Baking and Pastry until January at a time that does not work for me. When I told them that wasn't really an option for me, they tried to push me into their Culinary program that I wasn't interested in... So I decided to not attend culinary school for the time being. I don't want this decision to be forced or rushed. I also figure that I can always take classes on the side for my own enjoyment.


Don't worry, my decision to not attend Culinary school does not mean I will stop making delicious food. :)

I've got a couple surprises for you guys, but you'll have to wait until tonight for my updates! I'll give you a hint, one of them involves the Big E!! I had a food adventure at the Big E and this was one of many things I ate:

Just Desserts!

AHHH!!!! HAVE YOU ALL BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO TOP CHEF?? Tonight's episode was awesome, how cool is it to make food for astronauts!?!?!!

I'M SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT TOP CHEF JUST DESSERTS!!!

Mark your calendars, set your alarms, post-it your TVs, and DVR it!

PREMIERES SEPT 15th at 11/10c

CLICK HERE to go to the Top Chef site.

(not my pic, i was taken from top chef site)

Fresh Summer Salad

So I had an avocado left over from my last sushi night. I was trying to figure out what to do with it since 1 avocado clearly isn't enough to make guacamole. I decided to make a delicious summer salad I saw on Paula Dean's show (i LOVE her). A great way to eat healthy and light!

Ingredients:
~2 cups cooked corn, fresh or frozen
~1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I LOVE avocados, so I prefer 2)
~1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I had some fresh ones from our garden)
~1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing: (I just made the dressing to taste but if you want to follow the recipe click here)
~Cilantro or Basil (if you don't like cilantro, you can also substitute with Basil - I put both)
~Olive oil
~Lime zest from 1 lime
~Lime juice to taste
~Salt

~Pepper

Combine the corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion in a large glass bowl. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad.

It definitely looks delicious :) Oh and I used the olive oil I brought back from Greece. YUM!!

Plum Island

A couple weekends ago, I ventured to Plum Island beach with my friend Megan. It was the perfect getaway. Plum Island has everything you need for a perfect getaway: Great beach, nature reserve, a bar, and delicious food!

After a nice toasty morning afternoon, we decided to grab a drink at the bar on the corner:

Then we walked over to Bob Lobster (<--click link to go to site) and got some delicious fried clams, a lobster roll and ice cream.

My Fried Clams

Megan's Lobster rolle & Megan in fron of Bob Lobster eating Ice cream.

It's definitely a really awesome getaway spot. Just remember if you do go to Plum Island Beach and don't want to park by the public beach side, get there early. Parking is very limited.

Sushi Birthday Dinner!

"Wasbi?" "Not Much Ginger!!" HAHAHA, yeah I know I've used that joke before, but it's funny...haha, right?...

Anyways, Yesterday was my Mom's Birthday - Happy Birthday Mom!! I decided to make her Sushi for Dinner instead of going out to eat. I made it for 8 people, and boy it was delicious!! I'm at work right now, so I don't really have time to include the recipe just yet. Will update that later on.

I don't have any pictures of the sushi making process because, lets be honest, It's quite hard trying to roll sushi and take pictures at the same time. Lucky for you, I still have some salmon left, so I may just have someone record/take pictures of the process next time.

***Special THANKS to my Aunt Dona for hooking me up with the fresh fish and eel!!

INGREDIENTS:
RICE:
Sushi Rice, White Rice Vinegar, sugar, salt

Sushi Grade Tuna, Salmon, Eel
Seaweed wraps
Tobiko, Sesame seeds, Cucumber, Avocado, Crab meat
Wasbi, Soy Sauce

Left Pic: Unagi (eel) Avocado rolls, Caterpill Roll, Unagi Nigiri,
Right Pic: Salmon Nigiri, Salmon avocado roll, Tuna Avocado Roll

Left Pic: California Rolls, California handroll
Right Pic: Tuna Nigiri, Unagi avocado roll

6 plates of sushi for 8 people...I think I've officially satisfied everyone's craving for sushi.

For My Grandma

I'm sorry everyone for my lack of updating this blog. My life has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride lately. I'm back and promise that I'll update more from now on.

I'd like to Dedicate my first post to my Grandma. Words cannot express what an amazing person she was. My Grandma was and still is one of the most influencial people in my life. A lot of my childhood memories involve my Grandma cooking the most delicious dishes. From elaborant 5 course meals to pan fried dumplings. Every time I was sick, she'd always made chicken soup and oatmeal. To this day, I instantly feel better whenever I have either one.

The last time she made dumplings was back in March or April, I was fortunate enough to get one last chance to help her.

[Click on pictures to enlarge]

If anyone in your family is a great cook; try learning their recipes!!

If you'd like to share any family recipes, you can comment below.

<3